BreezyKiefAir,

Times are changing, you happen to be living through the gold rush days of medical cannabis. Lots of people are involved in this industry and like any other, there are a variety of reasons why people do it. There are lots in it for the money, and that's fair. Insurance companies have been sticking it to people for years. But eventually people will say enough is enough. This industry is shooting itself in the foot and they have no one else to blame except themselves. Conservative states which are routinely considered open minded are struggling with caregivers and dispensaries. States like California can be completely divided in view, some towns embracing it others rejecting it outright.

I live in Maine and we now have dispensaries allowed under state law, granted the Task Force is still piecing it all together and should be making recommendations to Governor by Jan 5th, 2010. So withing 90-120 there should be legal dispensaries here in Maine.

I have attended the Task Force meetings and can honestly say this might come out different for Maine than other states, The Task Force has looked at New Mexico's model and will tweak it for Maine. They are looking seriously at having the Department of Agriculture in conjunction with the University of Maine school system cultivate cannabis to be sold to caregivers and dispensaries. They are overly concerned on how to define "medical marijuana" which is way beyond their mandate or abilities. A suggestion has be put forward to meet the state half way. It would use the Department of Agriculture to maintain the nursery stock, growing clones and selling them to all registered or unregistered patients, caregivers, and dispensaries. The state would control genetic quality still offering a variety of strains. The would charge a fee for each clone sold, this would cover cultivation and a use tax. The state is happy; they have control and revenue generation to cover costs.

A lot of people reject this idea as having state government to involved. However, for this industry to survive and gain real traction state oversight in a positive fashion is needed before anyone will ever consider legalization.

The goal of this proposal is to have the state regulate pricing in much the same way they currently regulate alcohol. Unique to this is that regardless of strain or variety it would all sell to the patient for the same price, around $80 an ounce. Remember that Maine's dispensaries are nonprofits, but that still leaves plenty on the table for earning a living. Patients, caregivers and dispensaries would be prohibited under the proposal from keeping any mother plants. All plants would be purchased from the state at a point that they are ready to flower. This eliminates much of the unnecessary work needed to maintain mother plants, clones, worry about plant numbers, etc. Everything you have at your grow site would be in flower.

Everything would also come with a tamper-proof tag attached that expires in 120 days. Law enforcement and state inspectors will be able to inspect facilities quickly and know at a glance if anything is incorrect. Any grow sites discovered that have no valid tags would be deemed illegal because both registered and unregistered patients still need to purchase from the state facility. It does not effect current state law that allows someone to be an unregistered patient.

So inexpensive, quality, medical cannabis may arrive in Maine soon, and could become a model for other states. Remember, this is not about recreational smoking, this is about medical cannabis and how to provide it inexpensively for patients. Even caregivers would have to consider if it would be worth growing it for a few patients because they would have to buy the clones, grow them, sell them and all the while do this cheaper than a dispensary. Because in this proposal all cannabis is provided by the state which means everyone is growing and selling the same thing, or they are growing illegally. The state controls pricing which means a patient would not go to a caregiver that might have one or two strains when he/she can go to a dispensary and get up to 40 strains for the same price, $80 an ounce.

Long term this is good for the industry. I firmly believe that it should be sold like any other vice, it clearly is no more harmful for recreational use than many other vices. By the way, there is a reason the pharmaceutical industry is now pushing to have cannabis reclassified, and that is because the see all the money that the industry is generating and they believe they can make the case that they are in the best position to cultivate and dispense cannabis if doctors could legally prescribe it. This would be the death blow to this entire industry, and remember, in 1937 it was the same group that decided that synthetic drugs were far superior to herbal remedies. They do not have your best interests at heart.

Johnny
me8980109 Reviewed by me8980109 on . My personal Christmas present to the American Taxpayer...... Why have I heard nothing in this new health care plan about medical marijuana? The government is saving a ton of money due to the growth in the medical marijuana industry, but no one is talking about it in a real way. I have decided that I may have a unique perspective on this issue and have decided to throw my two cents in on the topic. I have decided that my joining the Medical Marijuana Registry was my Christmas Present to the American Taxpayer. First of all, I am a female under 40 with Rating: 5